Oprah Winfrey and her production company are denying she was “paid a personal fee” by Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign.
“Not true,” Winfrey said in a TMZ video. “I did not get paid a penny. Ever.”
Her statement was in response to reports Winfrey herself was paid $1 million by the Harris campaign.
“The campaign paid for the production costs of ‘Unite for America,’ a live-streaming event that took place Sept. 19 outside Detroit, Mich.,” a spokesperson for Harpo said in a statement, per Variety. “Oprah Winfrey was at no point during the campaign paid a personal fee, nor did she receive a fee from Harpo.”
The Washington Examiner dove into how the Harris campaign spent the $1 billion it raised in her three-month candidacy.
The Examiner wrote that the campaign “paid more than $15 million, according to federal filings,” on “event production.” This included $1 million to Harpo Productions for the “Unite for America” live-stream.
Harpo did not state to Variety any cash amount it was paid for production costs.
Per Variety, “In the following days, some outlets aggregated the Examiner report, stating that Winfrey herself had been paid $1 million by the Harris campaign.”
During “United for America,” Winfrey interviewed Harris. She asked Harris about a variety of topics, including abortion rights and immigration.
